Sprinkler for locomotives.



G. DITTMAN.

SPRINKLER FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23, 19x4.

Patented May 16, 1916.

g INVENTOR 7% W n) fiiJZI/fflf )1 (If have been found l ANT FFIE SPRINKLER FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May as, rare.

Application filed November 23, 1914. Serial No. 873,440.

T0 allwlzom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE DITTMAN, residing at McKees Rocks, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, a citizen of the United States, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Im-* provemen'ts'in Sprinklers for Locomotives, of which improvements the following is a specification.

In steam locomotives for railroads it is desirable to provide means, usually called sprinklers, for supplying a jet of water un-- der pressure for the purpose of wetting the coal, cleaning the cab, decks, etc. To this end the usual practice has been to take water from the boiler supply pipe at some convenient point between the injector and the boiler; out this has been found to be un satisfactory for the reason that under various conditions of service hot water or steam is supplied rather than water at a .usable temperature. While this expedient is the one usually employed, others have been suggested, but, for various reasons, they to be impracticable, or their cost forbidding.

My invention relates to sprinklers for this purpose, and the objects thereof are, first, to provide a sprinkler which will be safe, that is, which will, under all conditions of service, supply water at a temperature that will not scald the workmen ;v secondly to provide an inexpensive sprinkler adapted to be placed in the tender, and which may be easily installed both in'old and new locomotives, and which may be readily removed from the tender for repair and without emptying the tender of its water; and thirdly to provide a construction wherein there will be no liability of its becoming inoperative due to freezing."

In the accompanying sheet of drawings, which forms part of my specification, I have illustrated an embodiment of my invention.

Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of a locomotive and tender showing the general arrangement of the entire construction; Fig. 2 a vertical section through the tender showing the sprinkler to enlarged scale; Fig. 3

a view slmilar to the upper portion of Fig.

2, but showing a modification of construction; and Fig. 4 a detail view of a drain valve.

In the several figures, like numerals are used to designate like parts.

In the practice of my invention I discharge water directly from the tender tank y means of an ejector, the impelling power being steam taken from the locomotive boiler. The ejector may be of any suitable form or construction, that shown herein consisting of a nozzle 1 secured to a steam pipe 2, and a surrounding casing or body 3, having inlet ports 4, and secured to an outlet pipe 5'. To the end that the inlet ports 4 may be below the surface of the water at the lowest level it attains during all working conditions of service, the ejector is placed in an upright position, as shown particularly in Fig. 2, and adjacent to the bottom of the tender; and in order to prevent the freezing of water within the pipes 2 and 5, such water entering these pipes through the ejector ports 4 while the sprinkler is inoperative, both pipes enter the tender at a point above the highest level of the water therein, and preferably through the top of the tank. It will be observed also that, bysuch a disposition of the pipes, water will not flow from the tank by an accidental breaking of the pipes.

While the sprinkler pipes may enter and be connected to the tender in various Ways, I preferably provide an opening 6 in the 'top of thetender and attach both pipes 2 and 5 to a closure 7 for such opening. In the present embodiment of my invention the pipesare secured to the closure by means of clamping nuts 8, and, in Fig. 2, the closure is attached to the tender by means of boltst) which. engage with tapped holes in the top of the tender adjacent to the opening 6. In the modification shown in Fig. 3, the closure 7 is circular and is provided with threads adapted to engage a threaded flange 10 secured to the tender. Preferably also the pipe 2 is provided with a union coupling 11 and the pipe 5 is threaded to receive a hose coupling 12. By this arrangement, it will be seen that the sprinkler may be removed from the tender by detaching-'- the hose 13 from the pipe 5. the pipe 2 Irom the pipe 2 and the closure from the tank, thus making it unnecessary to drain, the tender tank of its water, when, for one reason or another, it is necessary to repair or clean the sprinkler.

The supply pipe 2 is connected in a suitable manner to the locomotive boiler. As

shown herein, it extends downwardly along the front of the tender to a flexible hose 11, the other end of which is attached to a pipe 15 which extends upwardly in the locomotive cab to the boiler, and is provided with a control valve 16. In order to prevent the freezing of water which may be formed by the condensation of steam within the pipes 15 and 2, a suitable automatic check valve is provided, preferably in the hose 14. Such valve, as shown in Fig. 4, may consist of a port 17 and a closure 18, held yieldingly in raised position by means of a spring 19, the arrangement being such that, when the steam is turned on, the pressure thereof will seat the closure 18, but when the steam is shut off the closure will be raised to permit'the water to escape. Y

The operation of the sprinkler will be clearly understood from the foregoing description. When it is desired to supply a stream of water for sprinkling coal or for other purposes, the valve 16 is opened thus permitting steam to flow to the ejector which will be effective to discharge water through the pipe 5. The water thus supplied will be slightly warmer than that in the tender but under no circumstances of service will steam or scalding water be supplied to the possible injury of workmen and the rapid deterioration of the sprinkling hose. The sprinkler may be readily attached to any locomotive and is easily accessible for repairs. Furthermore, as has already been explained, the construction is such that it will not become inoperative due to the freezing of water in the pipes during cold weather.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a locomotive tender provided with an opening in its top, and a closure for such opening; of a sprinkler consisting of a U-shaped pipe provided with an ejector, said sprinkler pipe extending downwardly within the tender and removable as a whole through said opening, and connectors at the upper ends of said pipe for attachment to steam supply and water discharge conduits.

2. The combination of a locomotive tender provided with an opening in its top, a closure for said opening removably secured to the tender, and a sprinkler secured to said closure and removable therewith, the sprinkler consisting of a U-shaped pipe projecting downwardly within the tender and provided at its lower part adjacent to the bottom of the tender with an ejector, the legs of said pipe extending through the closure and being provided exteriorly of the tender with means for attachment to a steam supply pipe and a hose.

3. The combination of a locomotive tender provided with an opening in its top, a

closure plate for such opening detachably connected to the top of the tender, a. sprinkler consisting of a U-shaped pipe secured to and extending through said plate and at its lower portion within the tender provided with an ejector, said sprinkler being removable withsaid plate and as a whole through said opening, and connectors at the upper ends of said pipe for attachment to steam supply and water discharge conduits.

4:. The combination with a locomotive tender provided with an opening in its top portion above the highest level of water within the tender, and a closure for such opening; of a sprinkler consisting of a U- shaped pipe provided with an ejector, said sprinkler pipe extending downwardly within the tender and removable as a whole through said opening,'and connectors at the upper ends of said pipe for attachment to steam supply and water discharge conduits.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

GEORGE DITTMAN.

Witnesses THos. F. SHERIDAN, R.. M. LEONARD. 

